This Mighty Scourge » This Mighty Scourge

ThisMightyScourge is back online!

Michael Noirot — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:38:37 +0000

I wanted to let everyone know that my blog has been repaired. The malware has been removed, the database repaired and WordPress updates have been applied. Over the coming days, I will return to publishing regular posts and reviews. Thank … Continue reading →

Why no posts?

Michael Noirot — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:15:25 +0000

Dear friends,

I am sure you are probably wondering why I have not posted recently. It is not due to a waning interest in writing. It is due to the fact that my blog was hacked a couple of months ago. I am working with several WordPress security consultants to clean this blog, protect my content and secure it from future hackers. Please be patient with me as I work to get my blog’s health improved. Contact me via email if you have any comments, etc.

I pray you had a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or wonderful Holiday Season!

Mike Noirot
Saint Louis, Missouri
December 27, 2011

Follow me on Twitter

Michael Noirot — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:03:09 +0000

I know many of you follow my personal Twitter account. I have been syndicating my blog articles to this account for some time. I get off on a political tangent periodically which you may not agree with. While we do not have to agree politically, we all have a common interest in the American Civil War. With this in mind, I have created a new Twitter account for my Civil War tweets: @CivilWarIs150. By following this Twitter account you will be spared any political opinion that I may post to my personal Twitter account @MichaelNoirot. If you are on Twitter, please take the time to follow my new Twitter account.

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Spring Cleaning at This Mighty Scourge

Michael Noirot — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:30:44 +0000

Yes, I do know it’s not spring. It’s close enough though. To celebrate the New Year I have decided to do some early spring cleaning. I have been cataloging thousands of photographs to launch a new feature on This Mighty Scourge. Over the next couple of days I will release my first “Soldier Profile.” The profiles will be published on the anniversary of the soldier’s birthday and will include varying amounts of detail on their military career and life. They will not be general biographies. The profiles will cover privates, non-commissioned officers, commissioned officers and general officers. There will be stories of Medal of Honor awardees and the occasional politician or inventor. My goal with this regular feature is to return to one of the things I enjoy most: telling the stories of Civil War soldiers. I look forward to launching this feature and hearing your feedback.

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My whereabouts…

Michael Noirot — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:30:04 +0000

Good morning, friends. I figured you might be wondering what was going on with me. It’s been a while since I have written any articles. I was at a large industry trade show/conference two weeks ago followed by a short vacation to New England to visit my daughter and grandson. While I was in the office last week, I was tied up on projects at work. Things are back to normal this week and I do have plenty of items I am working on at ThisMightyScourge.com.

This week, I will be reviewing a new DVD on the Battle of Fredericksburg. Additionally, I have several posts I am working on including a battle narrative on New Market. Stay tuned!

Changes to This Mighty Scourge

Michael Noirot — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 02:36:29 +0000

As my regular readers may have noticed, I have changed the look and feel of This Mighty Scourge. One of the nice things about using the WordPress blog publishing client is the many different themes and plug-ins available. I have switched my theme to the more up-to-date Graphene theme. My primary reason for this change, besides a desire to have a new look, is to make the blog easier to navigate. I hope you like the change.

Additionally, I have changed my blog’s security and registration settings. Starting today, you will no longer need to register for a WordPress.com account to make comments. With the effectiveness of my spam software, Akismet, I am allowing comments to immediately post without moderation.

Let me know what you think of these changes by leaving a comment.

A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton

Michael Noirot — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:40:44 +0000

Book reviews and author interviews are a regular feature of This Mighty Scourge. I approach reviews differently than most reviewers – I read books in their entirety before I review them. Additionally, I take notes throughout the entire read so I can have an intelligent discussion with the authors I choose to interview. There are no shortcuts and I pride myself with the finished product: a well thought out and constructed review and most importantly a lively thoughtful interview with the author. However, every now and then I need a break. This happened last week when I picked a book off my shelf that I have not read for many years. I settled in to read the book and enjoy it without having to take notes or think of an upcoming interview.

For this break, I chose “A Stillness at Appomattox” by famed author Bruce Catton. This is his third and last volume in his trilogy on the Union Army of the Potomac and won the 1954 Pulitzer Prize. Reading this book brings back memories of my past readings and the things that originally drew me to the American Civil War: quality research, stunning prose and skillful storytelling. While “Stillness” was not written as a tactical analysis it provides enough detail to keep a serious Civil War student enthralled while being an enjoyable read for a more casual reader. If you have time for a “break” of your own, I highly recommend reading any of Catton’s trilogy – but especially “A Stillness at Appomattox.”

Now back to reading and note taking…

Using Today’s Communication Technology

Michael Noirot — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:21:01 +0000

I have been using social networking sites for the past several years. My primary source for sharing Civil War stories and communicating with people that share similar interests is this blog. Facebook is my secondary means of communicating with people with an interest in the Civil War. Yesterday I signed up for a free Twitter account. As I understand, Twitter is an excellent way of sharing short items of interest with people that want to follow what you are doing. I plan to use Twitter to share tidbits on my travels to Civil War battlefields, but might also share some personal items. I invite each of you to follow me on Twitter. If you do not have an account, it is quick to set up and free. Here is a link to my Twitter page:

http://twitter.com/MichaelNoirot

From this page you can quickly select to follow me and receive my posts. Have a great weekend! Tweet, Tweet!

2009 In Review – The Top 10 Articles on This Mighty Scourge

Michael Noirot — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:40:48 +0000

Happy 2010! We have much to look forward to in the coming year. But let us take a quick look at what happened in 2009. According to Time magazine, the Top 10 ten news stories of 2009 were:

10. The end of Sri Lanka’s Civil War

9. H1N1 – The Swine Flu

8. Mexico’s Bloody Drug War

7. Pakistan: On the Verge of Breakdown

6. The Death of Michael Jackson

5. Massacre at Fort Hood

4. The Divisive Debate Over Healthcare Reform

3. Iran’s Tumultuous Election and Its Aftermath

2. Afghanistan: Can the U.S. Avoid a Quagmire?

1. America’s Economic Crisis

While most news stories, that would make an annual Top 10 list, are going to involve bloodshed, or death, two of last year’s top stories, at Time magazine, did not: “The Divisive Debate Over Healthcare Reform” and “America’s Economic Crisis.” Obviously these stories will continue to make news headlines over the coming year.

After reading Time Magazine’s Top 10 list of news stories for 2009, I decided to assemble my own list. The Top 10 most popular articles on This Mighty Scourge for 2009. While totally unscientific, it certainly points out which articles my readers liked the most. As I have done in previous lists, I have left out the articles on the Wilderness Wal-Mart, and other “calls to action,” as they always tend to enjoy a huge spike with little follow-up readership after a couple of days. My top 10 list for 2009 are articles that have enjoyed consistent readership over long periods during the year. If you haven’t read all of these articles, they are each hyperlinked so you can do so today.

2009 Top 10 List of Articles on This Mighty Scourge

10. Interview with James A. Hessler, author of “Sickles at Gettysburg” (Click HERE to Read)

9. The Battle of the Crater (Click HERE to Read)

8. Interview with Sally Jenkins & John Stauffer co-authors of “The State of Jones.” (Click HERE to Read) This article has been quite controversial and has been picked up by many news outlets due to the ongoing bickering between Stauffer & Jenkins and Vikki Bynum.

7. Gettysburg National Military Park – A Study in Contrasts (Click HERE to Read)

6. Interview with J. David Petruzzi, author of “The Complete Gettysburg Guide” (Click HERE to Read)

5. Antietam – One Bloody Day in September 1862 (Click HERE to Read)

4. Andersonville Prison – A Photo Essay and History (Click HERE to Read)

3. The Fighting 69^th New York Infantry and the Irish Brigade (Click HERE to Read)

2. Interview with Earl J. Hess, author of “In the Trenches at Petersburg” (Click HERE to Read)

1. Interview with Jim Lighthizer, President of the Civil War Preservation Trust (Click HERE to Read)

It should be noted that a few articles had very impressive finishes, reaching the top 10 list over the past couple of weeks. Obviously articles that were published earlier in the year, had more time to gain readership. For those of you interested in the articles that round out the top 20, on This Mighty Scourge, continue reading. It’s interesting to note, that my mid-December article, on the Battle of Fredericksburg, came in at 14. A very respectable position for only being available for two weeks.

Filling Out the Top 20 at This Mighty Scourge

11. The Battle of Chancellorsville – Joe Hooker’s Legacy (Click HERE to Read)

12. William T. Sherman – US Major General (Click HERE to Read)

13. Second Manassas – Again the Fields Turned Red (Click HERE to Read)

14. Battle of Fredericksburg – Ambrose Burnside’s First Foray (Click HERE to Read)

15. Robert E. Lee, General – CSA (Click HERE to Read)

16. Battle of the Wilderness – Grant Takes it to Lee (Click HERE to Read)

17. Robert E. Lee Surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (Click HERE to Read)

18. Wilson’s Creek – the Civil War Breaks Out in the West (Click HERE to Read)

19. Interview with Scott L. Mingus, Sr. – Author of “Flames Beyond Gettysburg” (Click HERE to Read)

20. Albert Sidney Johnston – CSA General (Click HERE to Read)

Thank you for making 2009 a successful year at This Mighty Scourge!

Mike Noirot

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Merry Christmas from This Mighty Scourge

Michael Noirot — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:12:23 +0000

It is the time of year when I count my blessings and reminisce about all the great things that have happened over the past year. My blog, This Mighty Scourge, has grown significantly since I published my first article in December 2008. My monthly readership has grown from 600 in January to averaging between 5000-6000 monthly, over the last quarter. This could not have been accomplished without your support - for which I am VERY grateful. Starting in April, I began doing audio interviews with authors, preservationists and even a publisher. All told, I have fourteen streaming audio interviews on my blog, and one text based interview – not bad for nine months of work! I also have another eight interviews scheduled over the next several weeks, so I expect this category of my blog to continue to grow.

Some thoughts for my author friends:

Thank you for being so generous with your time this past year. Our ”talks” have been very enjoyable for me and have made all the work publishing our audio interviews extremely rewarding. I truly believe your investment in time, knowledge and treasure has increased your book sales. (I track all sales through Amazon.com, that come from my blog.) Additionally, I’m sure many of my readers have opted to purchase directly from your publisher, or a local bookseller. I look forward to having future “talks” with each of you as you publish new books that relate to the Civil War.

Some thoughts for my publisher partners:

I really appreciate your generosity in supplying me with review copies of your Civil War titles. Going forward, as I review your books, and interview your authors, I will continue to promote your publishing businesses on my blog. I look forward to working with each of you in 2010.

Some thoughts for my friends and readers:

Thank you for making my blog so successful during its first year. The audio interviews, and book reviews, would not be possible without your loyalty in reading my blog. I encourage you to contact me if there is something I can do to make my blog more worthy of your time commitment. I know there are hundreds of other media outlets, and blogs, all vying for a piece of your time – I am humbled that you have made time to read my blog over the past year.

In closing, I would like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a safe holiday season! May next year bring you good health, happiness and peace.

Warmest Regards,

Michael Noirot
Saint Louis, Missouri
December 24, 2009